Underground Railroad/Transcript
Transcript 'Original Version' Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim: Mr. Gribbers told me my mother is here with a note? (she points to see that Moby was dressed as a mother) Aahhh! That's not my mom. Moby hands Tim a typed letter. 'Update Version' Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are at an underground subway station in New York City. The train arrives as Tim swipes his MetroCard and walks through the turnstile. Moby swipes his card and tries to walk through but the turnstile doesn't turn. A digital display on the turnstile reads "Please swipe again." Moby quickly swipes the card again, and the display reads "Swipe slower." He swipes the card a third time, and this time the display reads "Swipe faster." Moby hits the card swiper angrily several times, and it bursts into flames. A subway worker with a fire extinguisher appears from behind him and extinguishes the fire. The train leaves the station, just before Moby finally manages to get through. Moby hands Tim a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. MOBY: Beep! Moby hands him a letter. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what can you tell me about the Underground Railroad? Your friend, Bo. Hey, Bo! The Underground Railroad wasn't a subway or anything like that. It was a network of escape routes and hideouts set up during the 19th century. African Americans used it to flee the slaveholding states of the South. An animation shows a green and gray map of the United States with red arrows indicating the various escape routes of the Underground Railroad. The map's color scheme becomes black and white and the arrows on the map become railroad tracks. TIM: The “Underground" part meant that they traveled in complete secrecy. And "Railroad" came from the code language they used in communications. Like, "conductors" for the people who helped runaways escape…"Passengers" or "baggage" for those who were fleeing slavery… And "stations" for the homes and other places where they'd hide. An animation of a man holding a lit lantern in the dark appears on the map. The man waves his hand as two other people walk into the screen towards him. One is carrying a knapsack on a stick on his back. Above them on the map, a house appears, with all the lights turned on inside. TIM: Tens of thousands of men, women, and children escaped to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Most settled in northern states and Canada, while some went West or farther South. An animation shows a man with a horse-drawn carriage waiting in a dark forest. The animation pans to show the man with the knapsack hiding underneath what look like large flour bags in the carriage. The man with the lantern waves at him as the carriage departs. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Life wasn't easy in a lot of these places. Runaways faced racism just about everywhere they settled. But they had gained their freedom. Some joined groups of abolitionists, people committed to ending slavery. An animation shows an African American couple and their child standing on a busy street near a dock. They are surrounded by white people looking at them suspiciously. A white parent holding a child's hand walks by. The child stares at the family, as his parent tugs his arm and keeps walking. TIM: Quakers, a Christian organization were some of the earliest abolitionists. One of their central beliefs is that all people are equal. An animation shows the same African American couple speaking before a Quaker meeting. A white man is sitting at the podium in front of them and listening carefully to what they are saying. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I know, but back in the 1800s, that was a pretty radical idea. It took a broad range of people to get support for the abolitionist cause. Like Frederick Douglass, who'd escaped slavery as a young man. He wrote and spoke with passion about the cruelty of owning human beings. An animation shows Frederick Douglass preaching against slavery to a group of African Americans wearing tattered clothes and holding farming tools. TIM: Sojourner Truth, once enslaved herself, was another fearless crusader. When someone threatened to burn down a hall where she was scheduled to talk, she replied, "Then I will speak upon the ashes." An animation shows Sojourner Truth speaking at a lectern before a crowd. TIM: White abolitionists, like William Lloyd Garrison and Henry Ward Beecher, were equally passionate. And religious groups besides the Quakers got involved, too. All of these people worked tirelessly to end slavery and help runaways build new lives. A split-screen shows an animation of William Lloyd Garrison holding up a copy of the Liberator newspaper on one side, and an animation of Henry Ward Beecher stomping on slave chains in his pulpit on the other side. TIM: As the abolitionist movement grew, the Underground Railroad picked up steam. Routes expanded, and new ones opened up heading to Mexico and the Caribbean. An animation shows more routes being added to the map of the various escape routes of the Underground Railroad. MOBY: Beep? TIM: The path to freedom often meant going long distances by foot, carrying all you owned. But people also had to stow away on boats, wagons, and trains. Whatever it took to escape a life of slavery. One man, Henry “Box” Brown, even shipped himself from Virginia to Pennsylvania! An abolitionist shop owner helped him hide in a wooden cargo box. He spent over a day inside before it was safely reopened in Philadelphia. An animation shows a ship sailing on the ocean. On board, a white crewman is leaning on a large wooden cargo box. A cutout into the box reveals Henry "Box" Brown inside, with his ear pressed against the side of the box. Beads of sweat appear on his forehead and he looks frightened. A dog appears right outside of the box and starts howling. A hand drags the dog away. MOBY: Beep? TIM: The journey wasn't easy for anyone, and could stretch over 1,000 miles! An animation shows a runaway man walking through a forest under moonlight as another man with a lantern and a dog patrols the shore. The animation pans out to show a group of runaways walking through a swamp in the forest, half submerged in water. The sounds of crickets, frogs, and barking dogs are heard all around them. Eventually they reach the other side of the swamp, where a woman with a lantern waits for them. TIM: "Passengers" avoided main roads and traveled mostly at night. They often had to duck into swamps or forests to avoid being seen and captured. Those who helped them were also at risk. TIM: You could be thrown in jail for giving runaways food or shelter. Despite the danger, some folks took on even bigger roles in the Underground Railroad. They personally guided passengers between stations, taking them from one stop to the next. An animation shows the woman with the lantern standing in front of the door to a brightly lit shack. TIM: These were the Railroad's conductors. The majority were African Americans already living freely in the North. Harriet Tubman is the most well-known. The animation pauses on the woman holding the lantern, indicating that she is Harriet Tubman. The scene changes to show a close-up of the face of a statue of Harriet Tubman. The animation zooms out to show the full statue standing in a grassy square on a city street. TIM: She was born into slavery in Maryland, but escaped to Pennsylvania when she was a young woman. Tubman helped more than 100 people make it north! Another important conductor was William Still. An animation shows William Still sitting at a table in a room lit by the fire in a fireplace. He is taking notes in a notebook as various slaves gathered around him are speaking. He closes the notebook, revealing the cover that reads “Underground Railroad Record, William Still, 1872.” TIM: He kept detailed records of the nearly 650 people he helped save. Still used these stories to publish a book about their experiences. That’s one reason we know so much about the Underground Railroad. MOBY: Beep? TIM: No. Slave owners weren't too happy about losing the people they viewed as their property. An animation shows slaves working in the field of a plantation. A slave owner is standing on the porch of the plantation house reading a newspaper and glancing at his slaves as they work. He looks up from the newspaper and sees that one of the slaves is missing. TIM: They resented northerners for interfering in their business. And were especially outraged at states that protected runaways. Federal regulations said that any escapees had to be returned. In the eyes of the law, they were like stolen property. An image shows the slave owner in a courtroom looking very angry. He holds up a Wanted poster that shows a picture of the slave from the previous scene who escaped from the plantation. Another man comes up from behind him, takes the poster, crumples it up, and throws it aside. The jurors smile. TIM: But several states passed laws making it illegal to arrest them. Other states gave runaways the right to jury trials and free legal help. Often, juries would refuse to convict, and the men and women would go free. An image shows a judge at his bench in a courtroom. The animation zooms out from the judge to show a close-up a piece of paper titled “Fugitive Slave Law.” The camera pulls back to show the same slave owner as before holding it up before the same jury. He is smiling, and the judge and jury are frowning. TIM: So, Southerners pushed the federal government to pass the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850: Anyone in law enforcement who didn’t arrest a runaway would have to pay a big fine. And people who sheltered or helped them could be imprisoned. The law infuriated Northern abolitionists. Most continued to help African Americans make it to Canada—Even though they now faced serious consequences. The slavery issue ripped the country apart—dividing North and South. An image shows a map of the United States divided along the North-South border, with the Northern states colored in blue and the Southern states colored in gray. The unclaimed western lands are colored in black. A new territory is carved out of the black region, becoming briefly green. Little explosions appear in the green territory, and it becomes blue. Bigger explosions are shown along the blue-gray North-South border, with the American flag appearing in the blue North and the Confederate flag appearing in the gray South. TIM: And in 1861, the conflict finally exploded into the Civil War. You can learn more about that in our Civil War Causes movie! Back on the subway platform, a train arrives behind Tim and Moby. TIM: Hey, here's our train! Moby runs up to the train's doors and stands directly in front of them. Tim stands to the side of the doors. TIM: You may want to stand aside. MOBY: Beep? The train doors open, revealing dozens of people waiting to get out. They all pile out of the train, trampling Moby. When they're gone, Moby is literally flattened against the ground. Tim kneels and peels up a corner of Moby's head from the concrete. TIM: Cuz, uh... that. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts